England aim to be "bulletproof" by the 2019 Rugby World Cup — via massive clash with New Zealand

Sides currently first and second in the rankings have not met since 2014 but Red Rose boss Eddie Jones has arranged a testing run-in to the tournament with games against all the Southern Hemisphere's big three

Eddie Jones demanded England become “bulletproof” after finally getting a date to face the world champion All Blacks.

Four years’ wait will come to an end on November 10 next year, when the sport's current number one and two-ranked nations meet at Twickenham.

Ten months later, the World Cup kicks off in Japan, and Red Rose head coach Jones believes taking the scalp of 2011 and 2015 winners New Zealand with a year to go can provide a springboard to a triumph at the tournament.

New Zealand have won the last two World Cups and still top the rankings (Image: PA Wire)

“Our ambition is to be the number one team in the world going into the 2019 Rugby World Cup in Japan,” he declared.

“Over the next year, we need to continue to develop a bulletproof side that can find ways to win in matches. We will have to work hard and be smart in what we do to bridge the gap between us and the All Blacks.”

England have a relatively light autumn this year after a Lions Tour summer, with November games against Argentina, Australia and Samoa — none of whom are ranked in the world’s top four.

England are in second place after back-to-back Six Nations titles under Jones (Image: AFP)

But 2018 is another matter, with South Africa, Australia and New Zealand on the winter schedule, as well as Japan.

Jones says that series will be “incredibly important” in preparation for a tournament in which England have been drawn in a pool with France, Argentina, Tonga and the United States from which only two sides will advance to the knockout phase.

“We want to win that series 4-0 and we will need to play extremely well to beat four very good teams over a four-week period,” he added.

This summer's Lions tour to New Zealand was a draw — will England do better? (Image: Getty)

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“The series will give us a really good indicator of where we are as a squad a year out from the Rugby World Cup, and gives us a real focus on what we have to do over the next 12 months to be ready for that series and win.”

Jones is opting for a pre-World Cup blueprint used successfully in 2002 by Sir Clive Woodward.

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Woodward’s side beat the three Southern Hemisphere superpowers in successive weeks that November, and the confidence that gave them fuelled their drive to World Cup final glory in Australia 12 months later.

Jones, who has lost only once in 20 matches in charge, is leaving no stone unturned in his effort to return the Webb Ellis Trophy to the sport's birthplace.

He has already been to Japan and earmarked Miyazaki, on the southern island of Kyushu, as the ideal pre-tournament base.